The panel is expected to suggest various relief measures to put economy back on track as soon as possible, the sources said.
Sources said much has been done to ease the tax burden of the middle classes in the last five years, and that such a measure affects only a limited segment of people when the focus should be to put money in rural areas. Archis Mohan reports.
The Union Cabinet on Thursday cleared setting up of Cabinet Committee on Investment for providing expeditious clearances to major projects worth over Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion).
Many bureaucrats have in the recent past switched sides to join companies.
The government on Friday approved sale of its minority stakes in four public sector firms -- Hindustan Copper, Oil India, MMTC and Nalco-- to raise up to Rs 15,000 crore.
Ministries seek more discussions, Cabinet defers decision.
India should not be left behind. It should join the seven central banks which are studying feasibility and safeguards necessary to eliminate risks, particularly from hacking, advises former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
The government is expected to take a decision tomorrow on the issue of allowing foreign airlines to buy up to 49 per cent stake in cash-starved Indian carriers.
The foreign investment regulator cleared a decision on Vodafone Group Plc's $1.6 billion plan to take full ownership of its local unit.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram will soon have to decide whether to stick by his predecessor's choice of former Reserve Bank governor Y V Reddy for chairmanship of the 14th Finance Commission, to be set up next month.
Post-sale, the government stake would be 75 per cent, which will help NTPC to comply with the minimum public shareholding norms.
The markets tanked 209 points after Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee tabled the Union Budget in Parliament on Friday. Economic Affairs Secretary R Gopalan defends the measures, saying the markets will need time to comprehend the measures.
A meeting of the CCEA is likely to be held next week.
Spectrum qualifies for the infrastructure criteria, say ministry officials.
Although it has not been able to sell stake in any PSU so far this fiscal, the government will be able to meet the Rs 30,000 crore disinvestment target set for 2012-13, according to Department of Economic Affairs secretary Arvind Mayaram.
This is not her first stint in North Block or in leading a major economic ministry. She started Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first term as minister of state for finance, was made the commerce minister, and then became the defence minister.
Finance Ministry officials are engaging in hectic parleys with the PSUs to speed up the process so that the disinvestments can take place in the December and March quarters.
The 15 proposals were cleared following recommendations by Foreign Investment Promotion Board.
A government panel said policymakers and regulators should have an open mind regarding the introduction of an official digital currency in India.
Admitting that prices of sugar, pulses and vegetables are rising, the government today said it is planning to increase the subsidy for distribution of pulses through ration shops to provide relief to the common man.
"I dont think we will be able to contain fiscal deficit to our Budget plan of 5.1 per cent (of GDP). It could be 5.2 to 5.3 per cent, which is doable," Department of Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram told reporters in New Delhi.
The government would be ironing out issues related to the controversial 'bail-in' clause in the earlier Bill, explore hiking the deposit insurance cover of customers, and decide whether the resolution framework should apply to public sector banks.
In a major decision to liberalise the broadcast sector, the government on Friday decided to raise FDI cap to 74 per cent in various services of the sector, except the TV news channels and FM radio where the cap of 26 per cent will apply.
The ED had filed the first chargesheet in the case against Chidambaram's son Karti; later, a supplementary chargesheet was also filed against him.
At a pre-Budget meeting, the FM was asked to ensure that NBFCs come out of the liquidity crisis they are facing with the help of RBI. They also spoke about the futility of trying to achieve a 3 per cent fiscal deficit target over the medium term.
While the FPI limit on most bond issues would not be raised above 6 per cent, there would be some in which there would be no limits, reports Arup Roychoudhury.
'We need to further catalyse economic growth and the government needs to increase revenue,' says G K Agarwal, BJP's national spokesperson on economic affairs.
The government holds 85.82 per cent stake in SAIL.
A Russian fund submitted its interest to the resolution professional on February 14 and also hired a consultancy firm to help them with the bidding process.
Provident fund body may get support to ensure interest rate comparable with other savings instruments.
The appointment of new expenditure secretary comes a month-and-a-half ahead of the Budget for 2020-21 to be presented on February 1.
The approval for provisioning of Rs 20,000 crore as subordinate debt to provide equity support will benefit 2 lakh stressed MSMEs.
The road transport ministry has asked the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to ascertain the findings of a report by the World Bank's Institutional Integrity Unit. According to the report, contractors paid bribes and gifts to influence the actions of NHAI officials and consultants.
India's infrastructure financing requirements and the new manufacturing policy being finalised will open up $1 trillion opportunities for global investors over the next five years.
After growing at 8.4 per cent for consecutive financial years, economic growth fell to 6.5 per cent in 2011-12, primarily owing to a dismal show by the manufacturing sector, as well as a part of the services segment.
"Amazon, better behave. Desist from being flippant about Indian symbols & icons. Indifference will be at your own peril," Das said in a tweet.
The actual expenditure will only be marginally higher and hence, the multiplier effect will be muted.
Domestic financial institutions and mutual funds on Wendesday pitched for rationalisation of tax provisions to improve ease of doing business in the country.
'The first year of the Modi government's second term has laid the roadmap for the future and we will embark on it with gusto,' promises Gopal Krishna Agrawal, the BJP's national spokesperson on economic affairs.
Dissatisfied with the reply about non-submission of the controversial March 25 note on 2G spectrum allocation before the panel examining the issue, non-United Progressive Alliance members of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Monday asked the finance ministry to provide input documents that helped its compilation.
